AIKa R-16: Virgin Mission

Aika is a smart and athletic high school girl. She is so competent that she successfully passes the salvagers license test, obtaining a C-class license. Yet, she is young and hotheaded, so much so that Gota still treats her as a child. Due to this personality, no one is willing to hire her for salvaging jobs.

Since she had taken the trouble to get her license, she decides to post an ad in her school to attract clients. She manages to get the attention of Erika, a daughter of a rich family and the leader of the treasure hunting club. She asks Aika to salvage something from the sea and Aika delightfully accepts the request.

However, upon seeing the state-of-the-art submarine loaded onto Erika's private cruiser and discovering their destination, Aika realizes the terrible nature of her assignment. This results in a clash with a group of high school girls in the southern islands.

Who is the mysterious girl named Karen? So begins Aika's newest challenge!

(Source: AnimeNfo)

Sumeragi, Aika Main

Koshimizu, Ami Japanese

Shinkai, Eri Main

Fukuen, Misato Japanese

Minamino, Karen Main

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Nagisa, Risako Supporting

Suzuki, Naoko Japanese

Turbulence, Gust Supporting

Yoshino, Hiroyuki Japanese

Kyoko Supporting

Gotou, Mai Japanese

Midori Supporting

Masu, Nozomi Japanese

Aki Supporting

Sakata, Kayo Japanese

Captain Supporting

Kuroda, Takaya Japanese

Aida, Gozo Supporting

Ootsuka, Akio Japanese

Tsukino, Masashi Producer

Nishijima, Katsuhiko Director

Kameyama, Toshiki Sound Director

Kitahata, Tooru Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Mar 25, 2024

enriquelirac

Recommended

The AiKa saga never ceases to amaze me now that I'm taking the time to watch it.

I'm impressed by the amount of stupid analysis you can read online from people who are paralyzed by the fan service and can't make a good story.

AiKa R -16 is a prequel that tells us about the first big adventure of our famous protagonist. Without wasting time, we are introduced to an intelligent, adventurous, but above all, brave AiKa.

Three important concepts can be highlighted during the development of the plot.

The first is the formation of a trio of tough friends, AiKa, Eri and Karen. The author understood that he ... only had three chapters and thanks to that he does not waste time developing the characters. In a short time you will get to feel their personality and that will hook you with the story.

Second, an engaging and challenging plot. Once again, there are only three chapters. But that is enough for the author to generate interest in the plot, create a plot knot and leave a well-made outcome, which at the same time leaves the promise for a sequel.

Third, a large dose of fs, which fans of the genre will enjoy at every moment. Please, let's not give space to people who say "fan service is not necessary" For your information, fan service is a genre! Saying that fan service is not necessary is like saying that love is not necessary in the development of a romantic story.

The reality is that the AiKa saga is an example of a great story, great characters with a dose of fan serivce and all in perfect balance.

It is a MUST see for lovers of the genre.

THE GOOD. Perfect balance between fan service, Plot and characters.
THE BAD. Only three chapters? Why?
THE SAD. The paladins of good customs who are willing to destroy everything they don't agree with instead of being objective.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jan 15, 2009

Skadi

Mixed Feelings

Aika R-16: Virgin Mission really has so little to do with its predecessor that why they even bothered to name it such and put it into the Aika franchise is a mystery. About all it shares with the original are a few of the character names and a lot of exposed panties. We get to see younger versions of characters that we really didn’t care about to begin with. Overall though it manages to be better than its original pretty much across the board.

Story wise, Aika tries at least tries to have a basic plot silly as it is. What it ... does have is not terribly original. What we end up with is the young Aika going to a private high school and learning how to be a submarine pilot so she can be a salvager. This is important back story because salvaging was oh-so importing in the original. (Yes, I am being sarcastic) She gets involved with another girl at the school who runs a treasure seeking club and since Aika can pilot a submarine she is invited along. Hilarity, boobs, and pantsu follow.

Lots of martial arts action accompanies the story as Aika and friends are constantly attacked for unknown reasons by their huge breasted teacher. We never are told why this happens, besides the obvious plot device that this allows for panty shots, nudity, and sexual "humor". The panties are dialed down a little bit, we don’t see a pair in "every" shot that contains females. But there is plenty of gratuitous nudity to make up for it.

Overall the main problem I had with the plot is that it doesn’t explain anything from the original and it makes you wonder why they even bothered to make this an Aika story. They could have easily just made it an original story and left it out of the Aika world. There are none of the superpowers Aika had in the first series. But if you were expecting virgin mission to be about how she got those powers then you’re going to be sorely disappointed. In fact the plot really isn’t about Aika at all; it’s about some new character that wasn’t in the original show either.

Character wise Virgin Mission fails almost as much as the original. Some of the characters have a bit more personality than the original but this is mainly due to the exceptional voice acting which I will get to later. Aika is nothing personality wise like her original and while she is very cutely drawn she isn’t interesting at all. The two new main characters are Karen and Eri. Eri is basically a clone of Haruhi Suzumiya and has the same personality and quirkiness except without the whole being interesting and fun part. Karen is a vanilla emotionless type whom the story is really about. She probably gets the most development and the plot revolves around her past. It’s pretty inexplicable why the writers chose to focus on her and not the title character. All of the supporting characters are basically just background scenery. They have no depth at all and are completely meaningless and useless to the story except in the girls’ cases to show us their panties and boobs.

The art much like the first show is strength, and obviously where the director put most of his effort into. We have very cute girls with great bodies and perfectly formed breasts. The action is well animated and it appears that some computer effects were mixed in which are pretty seamless and match the rest of the animation.

The voice acting is really what saves this series for me. Mamiko Noto who plays Karen and Ami Koshimizu who plays Aika are great. I love what they do and it is thanks to them that this show has any humor or personality at all. Music wise, Koshimizu sings both OP and EN songs and they are ok but nothing spectacular. I was disappointed that Noto didn’t sing one of them as I think she is a far superior singing talent.

Overall this series has more going for it than the original. If you have seen neither one don’t bother with the first and just watch this one. It’s difficult for me to recommend anyone watch unless you just really want to see echii and nudity. It’s a short series so you won’t waste too much of your life.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jan 13, 2008

Echoes

Not Recommended

Aika R-16: Virgin Mission: A short review.

As guilty a pleasure as one could get, Aika surely caters to those of us who enjoy fanservice. The story in and of itself is obviously far from impressive, but let's be honest, that's not what you're here for. You're here to see some cute, half-naked girls, which the show delivers; as promised. Oh, and more pantyshots than even the most perverted of us could ask for.

Story: 2/10. There's very little to be said here, like the original Aika, this is not the area in which the series excels. It's basically just "make up some excuse to get the ... show going."

Art: 6/10. The art is an obvious improvement from its predecessor (that's a given, I suppose) and it does look pretty decent, a huge plus since the series if indeed very focused on aesthetics. (Yes, I'm talking about the girls.)

Sound: 6/10. Aika has a good seiyuu, she does a fine job delivering her lines, which really does push the quality of the show up quite a bit. The music and sound effects aren't something you'd remember, though, and some of the minor characters do sound a bit uninspired.

Character: 5/10. Aika is likable. I much prefer the young version to the older, which I really didn't care much for. Her enthusiasm and somewhat silly nature, combined with an ability to kick some ass here and there makes an all-around decent character. Her sidekicks are very generic, though, an Asuka-like loudmouth and a typical silent-girl type.

Enjoyment: 4/10. This is purely subjective. As all enjoyment of art is, of course, but it really comes down to whether or not you like to see sexy schoolgirls fall over again and again, revealing their underwear. There is a bit of comedy thrown in as well, and it might hit home, though I found it a bit bland. On the whole, it's just a few laughs and some ecchiness, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, just nothing to write home about.

Overall: 4/10. I've seen much worse attempts at mindless fanservice. Aika: R-16 Virign Mission does have a bit of charm to it. I can't really justify giving it anything more than 4/10, though, as it's just a random 3-episode-pile of fanservice. I enjoyed it enough to not regret having watched it, if that counts for anything.
I do feel a bit silly, as this is my first review, but I wanted to pick a series which didn't already have 10 reviews written for it. Hopefully it'll help some poor soul make up his mind as whether or not to indulge his ecchi-cravings.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: AIKa R-16: Virgin Mission Episode 3 Discussion cyruz - May 10, 2008	25 replies	by bdcrt »» Feb 5, 4:56 AM
	Poll: AIKa R-16: Virgin Mission Episode 1 Discussion cyruz - May 3, 2007	23 replies	by bdcrt »» Feb 5, 4:53 AM
	Poll: AIKa R-16: Virgin Mission Episode 2 Discussion cyruz - May 10, 2008	18 replies	by Gator »» Jul 11, 2020 1:47 PM
	whos subbing it? event_ - Aug 4, 2007	10 replies	by cyruz »» May 10, 2008 12:22 PM